Trip Reports

Cho Oyu 2009

Summit of Cho Oyu, the world\'s 6th highest mountain
Trip Report

Written by Leader Tim Calder, November 2009

The September 2009 Jagged Globe Cho Oyo expedition was a highly successful trip with 12 of the 14 members reaching the summit. The timing of the expedition could not have been better. Bad weather was predicted by all of the western met offices, and these agreed with the Tibetan weather predictions. Despite this, and feelings that we might be arriving early, the group reached a pretty deserted ABC on 4 Sept. This early arrival however, proved to be key to our summit successes, allowing our group a good steady acclimatisation, whereas many groups were forced into speedy trips up and down the mountain to acclimatise for a summit bid before the onset of bad weather.

The Sherpa crew were excellent and had all camps ready for the team to occupy well before we needed them. This, coupled with our Sherpas’ excellent support on summit night, made for a successful expedition.

22-30 Aug UK to Chinese Base Camp and the start of the climb

The group left the UK on 22 Aug and met up with me at the Summit Hotel on 23 Aug. We did a few days of admin and a final prep of gear, then boarded the amazing 1 hr flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa. The views of Everest, Lhotse, Kangchenjunga and, most importantly, Cho Oyu were spectacular and it was hard to believe that, if all went well, we would all be up there in a few week’s time. The altitude jump to Lhasa can be a challenge, so our first few days in Tibet were spent taking it easy with some gentle sightseeing in and around Lhasa, a little time to shop and stock up on cheap outdoor gear.

Leaving Lhasa we spent 2 days driving west through more and more remote areas where the settlements became progressively fewer. A night in Shigatse was a welcome break to rest our numb bums. The town is dominated by the Gompa [monastery] and the old palace. Those of the group feeling up to it went for a late afternoon stroll to see the sights. Xegar was our first night over 4000m and a few of the group were feeling the effects of altitude, but with the knowledge that we had a rest/acclimatisation day the next day spirits were high. The walk up to the old Dzong [fort] above the town was the highlight of the first part of the expedition for many people. The dzong dominates the surrounding countryside and is perched atop a precipitous hill. The ascent took around 2 hours but was well worth it for the views.

31 Aug - 10 Sept acclimatisation in Chinese Base Camp and Advanced Base Camp

On the last day of Aug we headed for Tingri at 4400m and then on to Chinese Base Camp (CBC) and the start of the expedition proper. 10 mins before Tingri the clouds parted with excellent views of the mountains. Everest and Cho Oyu were particularly prominent and it started to sink in what lay ahead of us. The next few days were spent at CBC sorting gear, acclimatising and awaiting the arrival of our yaks to take us to Advanced Base Camp (ABC). The yaks showed up late afternoon 3 September, which meant we were off the following morning. As the yak loads were being weighed and the yaks loaded, the group headed up the valley on foot towards interim camp. The loading of the yaks took longer than anticipated as they bucked and cavorted and many loads ended up on the ground several times before being finally strapped on securely!

By mid afternoon we were all sitting in a small Tibetan tent taking in the views and sipping tea. My journal for 4 Sept reads “6 hours to ABC”. Not long, but the final hour or so can be testing as we approach 5800m. Everyone was pretty tired but excited to finally be at ABC with Cho Oyu standing majestically before us. The next week was spent acclimatising with walks that took us progressively higher but did not take us on to the mountain. The Sherpas believe that a person should not set foot on the mountain until a religious ceremony [puja] is carried out to appease the deities living on the mountain, and we were waiting for a particularly auspicious day for this: the 10th Sept.

We also spent a lot of time practicing with fixed ropes. This period of the trip was the only time that we had bad weather until the day we finally departed, so we were happy to be low on the mountain. It was decided to split the group in two for the acclimatisation phase on the mountain to ease logistic support. Instead of group 1 and 2 or A and B we decided on the “Yaks” and the Yetis”. Many people had their own theories as to how they got into one group or another!

11 Sept - 18 Sept Camps 1 and 2

The aim of this part of the expedition was to try and get everyone up to Camp 1 at 6400m and Camp 2 at 7100m for one night each. The first group to head up the mountain was the Yetis. The trek to C1 starts off fairly easily with a few minor ups and downs along the glacier but with an overall gradual ascent. After depot camp at 6000m, we hit heartbreak hill. 400m of ascent on steep scree up to C1. The snow line is only reached just before the camp! The Yetis spent a good night at C1 and descended the next morning and then the Yaks came up for a night before heading back down to ABC. A few days rest and the Yetis were heading back up the hill on 15 Sept with a view to reaching Camp 2 to spend the night. The Yetis spent the night of the 15th at C1 then headed up to C2 on the 16th, as the Yaks headed to C1.

The route to C2 is dominated by the ice cliff. The ice cliff is approx 90m high at its lowest point. It is breached by a rising traverse than can be very tiring but quite exhilarating due to its steepness and exposure. The yetis arrived in C2 feeling tired but happy to have made it over 7000m. 17 Sept the Yetis descend to ABC and the Yaks headed up past the ice cliff and round the never-ending corner to C2! On 18 Sept the Yaks descend to ABC and the wait for a summit window began.....

19 Sept - 23 Sept The Summit Push

All weather reports indicated that the weather was going to deteriorate rapidly towards the end of the month. We were in a perfect position having completed our acclimatisation process and having had our high camps fully stocked by our excellent Sherpas. Many other groups who arrived at ABC after us were not so lucky and were under pressure to get a summit bid in before the end of the good weather. The bad weather was forecast to last for between 7 and 10 days, so the race was on.

By this time the team had been rearranged into 2 different groups: those going to the summit from Camp 2 and those that were going to make a bid from Camp 3. On 21 Sept the group that was making a summit bid from C3 departed from ABC to spend a night at C1. The next day as this group headed to C2 the remainder of the team headed up to C1. Then it was on up to C3 for the first group and C2 for the second group. By mid afternoon 23 Sept Chris G, Derek, Rich M, Guy, Rich S, Phil P, Jeff and Chris D were at Camp 3 and Raymond, Andy, Foo, Roo, Pete, Phil B and myself were at C2.

23 Sept Summit Night

We had all invested a lot in this final 24 hrs and people very tense but very excited. At 2200hrs down suits went on, and breathing oxygen at 2 litres a minute the team left Camp 2. Raymond, who is a very strong climber decided that he has achieved what he has set out to do and has no real ambition to go higher. A very strong, brave man he waited in Camp 2 for the groups’ return. An hour later the group at Camp 3 departed, all on oxygen. It was a warm, still night and the conditions were perfect. Derek turned round after an hour - but at 66 years old this is a hell of an effort by him! Not long after leaving Camp 3 the climbers hit the only major obstacle, except for the altitude, on summit night: the Yellow Band. This is a 3m high sandstone layer of strata that, whilst not very high, can be very steep and tiring. I will hand over to Chris Groves here as I feel he has caught the next moments perfectly:

“The ropes continue upwards, the snow pretty firm underfoot, nothing to see except the boots of the person in front. Eventually, the ropes run out and the path starts to zig-zag. Head torches start to descend, the first people having summitted pre-dawn. Passing Peter on his way down [he summitted at 0450] he says it’s about 40 mins to the top. The path, almost level, weaves its way onwards. Pretty much light but with no sun Phil P, Jeff and a Sherpa are in front of me taking photos. The top, 0545. Chris D and Rich S aren’t far behind. There is a cold wind and photos are hurriedly taken. Everest in front and the shadow of Cho Oyu cast behind us, snowy peaks to the south and the Tibetan plateau to the north. I wish I'd stayed longer, taken more photos, but happy to have reached the top and knowing that was only half the job I headed down. Quickly meeting Roo, Foo and Phil B then Andy with Sherpas. At the start of the steep slope there was Guy and Rich M accompanied by Pema and Mingma. Exhausted but in safe hands I knew they’d make it -they summitted at 0900. With increasing light the views just got better. Camp 3 was reached in just over an hour if you were moving fast. After drinks and packing up it was down to Camp 2 where, with the exception of Pete and Raymond who descended to ABC that day, everyone spent the night.”

25 Sept - 04 Oct Homeward Bound.

It is worth remembering when you stand on the summit of a big peak that you still have to get down. Our descent of the mountain was rapid and everyone was eager to get down. A few people were extremely tired after the ordeals of the mountain but by 1830 on 25 Sept everyone was back in ABC. The Yaks turned up a day early on the 26th so we departed ABC the morning of the 27th, arriving in Zangmu just after dark on that evening. A few beers, a slap up meal. and to bed early. By evening the next day we were back in Kathmandu at the Summit Hotel all feeling like we had been beamed down from the SS Enterprise. 8201 meters to Kathmandu in 4 days takes a bit of getting used to.

Good weather, good Sherpas, a good supply of oxygen, and plenty of time to acclimatise is the optimum to be hoped for or any big Himalayan Peak. Jagged Globe’s 2009 Cho Oyu expedition had it all!

Tim Calder, Expedition Leader « | »

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